An entirely new form of birth controlDrug FreeWorks with your body Can be used to indicate Ovulation, the Fertile days of the cycle or the Start of the PeriodCreates your own personal profileNo Side-EffectsIs 94 % reliableEndorsed by the Catholic ChurchWHAT IS PERSONA?Persona is a new form of birth control that works in harmony with your body.It is part of the Natural Family Planning (NFP) group of birth control methods. This means Persona is not a barrier, physical or chemical device, and it doesn't contain any hormones.All the methods in the NFP group work by identifying the fertile period of your cycle. Once you know when you are most likely to become pregnant, you have 2 options: you simply abstain from sex for the entire fertile period |
| you only have protected sex during the fertile period |
To have protected sex means you use a back-up birth control method, like a barrier method. Of course, the best way to avoid an unintended pregnancy is to not have sex at all during your fertile period. What distinguishes Persona from the other NFP methods is the way in which Persona identifies your fertile interval. All the other methods use indirect fertility indicators, while Persona uses direct fertility indicators.What are fertility indicators? Since your own body hormones govern fertility, these hormones are used as fertility indicators. So, if you know what the levels of these hormones are, you can predict if you are fertile or not.How are fertility indicators measured? There are two ways to measure the level of the fertility hormones: | directly |
| indirectly |
The direct way is to measure the hormone levels in a blood or urine sample. Of course, having to draw and test blood samples throughout the month is just not a practical method of birth control. On the other hand, testing a few urine samples during the month is much more convenient. And this is exactly what Persona does: it directly measures the level of 2 fertility hormones in your urine sample.The indirect way is to observe the outward body changes caused by the fertility hormones. For example, your body's core temperature (called Basal Body Temperature, or BBT) varies, depending on the level of fertility hormones. So, by charting your BBT, you can indirectly guess what the levels of your fertility hormones are.Of course, being able to directly measure the levels of the fertility hormones is far more accurate than guessing what their levels might be, based on indirect observations.HOW DOES PERSONA WORK?
Persona consists of a small hand held Monitor, which is a mini-computer, and disposable urine Test Sticks.You sample your morning urine on the Test Stick (for 16 days the first month, and for 8 days in subsequent months).The Test Stick collects 2 hormones in the urine and converts their levels into a form that can be read by the Monitor.Then you insert the Test Stick into a special slot on the Monitor.
The Monitor reads and analyzes the Test Stick, it learns about your unique cycle profile, and it displays birth control and cycle advice every day. The Monitor tells you when you need to test, when you can have sex (Infertile days), when you should abstain from sex or use a barrier method (Fertile days), and when you're about to start your menstrual period. The Monitor displays:A Yellow
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light when a test is needed
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A Green
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light for Infertile days
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A Red
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light for Fertile days
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WHY WOULD ONE CHOOSE PERSONA?Women spend over 30 years of their lives trying to avoid an unintended pregnancy. Despite this, there have been few new birth control methods introduced since the 1960's, when the Pill was released.Perhaps this lack of options is one of the reasons why up to 25% of women are dissatisfied with their current method of birth control.In the U.S. the birth control choices are even more limited, compared to the rest of the world. For example, the most popular method of birth control used by American women is surgical sterilization. This makes the U.S. the only developed country in the world where sterilization is the most commonly used method.In addition, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancies and abortions in the industrialized world. Persona offers women an innovative addition to the existing methods of birth control. Persona is a non-invasive, chemical-free, easy to use method. It also allows you to learn more about your own body. There are no pills, no shots or implants involved, and a prescription is not needed.Because Persona identifies the days on which you could get pregnant, you may also use it to plan a pregnancy.Persona is endorsed by the Vatican since it does not interfere with the natural reproductive cycles.WHO SHOULD USE PERSONA?| your natural monthly cycle lasts between 23-35 days |
| you can not or do not want to take drugs for birth control |
| you want to use a method that has no side-effects |
| you want a method that is immediately reversible, once you decide to become pregnant |
| you want to gain a better understanding of you body |
WHO SHOULD NOT USE PERSONA?| your cycles are shorter than 23 days or longer than 35 days |
| you've experienced menopausal symptoms |
| you are breast feeding |
| you are using hormonal treatments which may affect your cycle (e.g. hormonal birth control methods like the pill, hormone replacement therapy, fertility drugs) or any other treatments which may affect your cycle |
| you are currently taking antibiotics containing tetracyclines (except doxycycline and oxytetracycline which can be used) |
| you have impaired liver or kidney function or polycystic ovarian syndrome |
| a pregnancy would be totally unacceptable to you |
WHO SHOULD NOT USE PERSONA STRAIGHT AWAY?If you've recently used, or are currently using, hormonal birth control, like the Pill and Emergency Contraception, or if you've recently been pregnant (even if you didn't carry to full term) or are breast feeding, don't start using Persona.In these instances, wait until your cycles return to normal, i.e. until you have at least two natural, consecutive monthly cycles, each lasting 23-35 days, and your third period starts.RELIABILITYPersona is 94% reliable when used according to instructions and as the sole method of birth control.Persona does not offer any protection against Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including HIV.The peer reviewed journal article on Persona may be found in The British Journal of Family Planning. Here is the exact reference: In America, Persona is not FDA approved. The FDA is the U.S. equivalent of the Medicine Control Agency.